Dodgers 5, Cardinals 1
ST. LOUIS -- The Los Angeles Dodgers couldn't beat Michael Wacha in the 2013 National League Championship Series with ace Clayton Kershaw pitching.
But they figured out a way to do it Saturday night with their No. 5 starter pitching.
Carlos Frias tossed seven solid, efficient innings and Los Angeles finally broke through against Wacha in a four-run sixth inning, earning a 5-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals at soggy Busch Stadium.
Wacha (7-1), who took a no-hitter into the sixth against a team which hadn't scored a road run in a franchise-record 42 innings, lost it with a one-out double off the right field wall by third baseman Justin Turner.
The shutout went bye-bye on an RBI single by second baseman Howie Kendrick, and catcher Yasmani Grandal chased Wacha with a 435-foot three-run homer to the bleachers in left-center field for a 4-1 lead.
That was more than enough for Frias (4-2), who gave up just five hits and an unearned run, walking two and fanning three. Frias induced three double plays.
Wacha, who defeated Kershaw 1-0 and 9-0 two Octobers ago to lift St. Louis into the World Series, was charged with four runs off three hits and three walks in 5 2/3 innings. He fanned seven.
Pinch-hitter Alberto Callaspo added an RBI single in the eighth for the Dodgers (29-19). The Cardinals (32-17) saw their five-game winning streak end.
After a rain delay of two hours and 20 minutes, St. Louis scored in the first inning for the sixth straight game. Shortstop Jhonny Peralta's broken-bat grounder to third brought home second baseman Kolten Wong, who reached on an error by Kendrick to start the inning.
The unearned run was all the Cardinals managed through five innings against Frias, who bounced back nicely after allowing 10 runs in four-plus innings on Sunday to San Diego. Frias gave up two singles and walked two.
NOTES: St. Louis LF Matt Holliday (flu-like symptoms) returned to the lineup after missing Friday night's game. ... Los Angeles activated C Yasmani Grandal from the seven-day concussion DL and assigned OF Chris Heisey to Triple-A Oklahoma City. ... The Dodgers started Saturday night in second place in the National League West for the first time in 44 days, thanks to Friday night's loss and San Francisco's 4-2 win over Atlanta.